Affairs of the Heart
by lilxjames
Summary: Newly divorced Nathan Scott loved his son more than anything else in the world. But when his ex wife threatens to take him away from him, Nathan must enlist the help of a woman who had pledged to hate him for eternity- Haley James will you marry me?  AU


**Disclaimer:** I don't own One Tree Hill or any of the characters in it.

**Summary**: Nathan Scott has little in life that he could call his own, but he loves his son more than anything else in the world. So when his ex wife threatens to take him away from him, Nathan has to enlist the help of the woman who can't stand the sight of him and Haley must decide whether changing her entire life is worth helping the man she hates unconditionally.

_Chapter 1: The start of a new life_

_**New York**_

"I'm getting too old for this," Nathan mumbled under his breath as Rachel's voice drilled a migraine into his head.

"Excuse me? What did you say?" Rachel shrieked. "Speak up, Nathan."

"Are you through bitching, Rachel? I have a few things to get done, so whenever you feel like wrapping this up, it will be appreciated," Nathan replied, sitting on the couch in the massive living room of their brownstone, watching as his wife, correction, ex-wife, paced in front of him.

"Have you not been listening to me?" she yelled. "I told you, I'm leaving tonight!"

"Yes, I heard that. So did half of uptown Manhattan. If you could lower your voice, maybe we can discuss this like adults. I know that's something you're not used to, but I have a headache and I need to go check on Jamie."

"Jamie, Jamie, Jamie… he's all you ever think of," Rachel said acidly.

"I would hope that's true, especially seeing as how he's our son. Since you obviously don't ever think of him, I do," Nathan retorted, his anger slowly growing.

"I have better things to do than chase after a four-year-old," she replied.

"Yes, like sleeping around with your boy-toy," Nathan muttered.

Rachel acted like she didn't hear him. "My things are already packed and are on their way to San Francisco. Felix is waiting for me there."

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the update on your lover," he said dryly.

"You knew this was coming, Nathan," Rachel said. "I gave you plenty of chances to make our marriage work and yet you didn't seem the least bit interested in keeping me around."

"You'd think that your son would be a pretty good reason for you to stay," Nathan replied. "Frankly, I'm glad you've realized where your priorities lie. We're going to be much better off without you."

Rachel sighed annoyingly and stuck her fists on her hips. "Don't you even care that I'm leaving?"

"Why should I?" Nathan asked. "You know this marriage isn't based on any sort of emotion. Do I have to keep reminding you that the only reason I stuck that ring on your finger was so that Jamie would be a legitimate child?"

"Jamie, Jamie, Jamie… that mistake of a child took away four good years of my life," Rachel exclaimed. "Do you know how much I had to pay in order to get my body back to the way it was before I was saddled with him?"

Nathan clenched his fists to keep from hitting her. He would never hit a woman, but sometimes Rachel really liked to test his self-control. "What kind of a person would call their own child a mistake?"

"_I_ would! He _was_ a mistake. A one-night stand mistake," she explained.

"The one-night stand, yes, that was a mistake," Nathan told her. "Jamie was not. All he ever wanted from you, Rachel, was just a little bit of motherly attention and yet, you never gave him an ounce! You didn't breastfeed him nor did you even feed him in general, you never changed a diaper of his, you never played a single game with him.

"God, Rachel! He doesn't even call you mummy, he calls you Rachel! Even at four years old, he knows what a shitty mother you are," Nathan growled."

"I was never meant to be a mother at 23, Nathan," she said. "I had places to go and people to see!"

Nathan rubbed his temples which were slowly starting to throb. "Ok, fine, whatever. The divorce has been settled, you get 10 percent of whatever assets I have and you can keep the brownstone. But Jamie stays with me."

"You can have him," Rachel snorted. "What good is he going to do me?"

"Daddy?" the small voice of Nathan's son sounded from the doorway.

Nathan immediately rose off of the couch and walked to his son. He threw a disgusted look at Rachel and picked up his son before leaving the living room and walking towards his son's bedroom.

"Were you and Rachel fighting again?" Jamie asked quietly as he rested his head on his father's shoulder.

"I'm sorry Jamie, I didn't want you to have to hear that," Nathan told him.

"Why doesn't Rachel like me?" Jamie asked. "Did I do something bad?"

Nathan fought to keep his composure and not turn back around to strike his ex-wife. "Rachel doesn't like anybody but herself, buddy. You have never done a bad thing in your life."

Jamie nodded and wrapped his arms around Nathan's neck. "Can we go to the playground tomorrow?"

As they reached Jamie's bedroom, Nathan shook his head. "Remember that I told you we were going to see your grandparents tomorrow?"

"Gamma and Gampa?" Jamie said excitedly. "Are we going to see them for a long time?"

Nathan smiled at the names Jamie had bestowed upon Karen and Dan back when he was a toddler and had some trouble pronouncing a few letters, including the letter 'r'. "We're going to stay with them while I buy us a new house to live in. One that's close to them so we can see them more often."

Jamie's dark blond eyebrows furrowed. "Is Rachel coming with us?"

"No," Nathan assured as he settled Jamie into his bed. "Rachel is going to be living in California. She won't be living with us anymore."

"Oh," Jamie said. "Are you happy, daddy?"

"As long as you're happy, then I'm happy," Nathan told him.

"Ok. I'm sleepy. Does that mean you're sleepy?" he asked with his usual determination of curiosity.

Nathan laughed quietly and shook his head. "Do you want a story tonight?"

Jamie thought for a moment, his little pink lips pursed in contemplation. As Jamie made his father wait for an answer, Nathan studied his son, like he did most nights.

A messy patch of dark brown locks adorned the top of his head, a few strands falling into his cobalt blue eyes. An infinite amount of people had told Nathan that Jamie was a spitting image of him. Karen insisted that Jamie was an exact copy of him as a child, except his hair was a little on the brown side.

Jamie had the innocent face of a cherub- expectant and trusting. He differed from his father in the fact that his facial features were softer and not yet carved into the planes and angles of adulthood that Nathan featured.

"I'm too sleepy for a story, daddy," Jamie yawned. "Tomorrow when we see Gamma and Gampa, can they read me a story?"

"They will be so happy to see you, Jamie. They haven't seen you in a few months and they will do almost anything you ask, so I'm positive that they will want to read you a story."

Jamie smiled and turned to his side, his eyelids drooping. "Goodnight, daddy," he whispered.

Nathan kissed his forehead and tucked the covers around him tighter. "Night, buddy."

As he quietly closed the door behind him, Nathan heaved a sigh he didn't know he was capable of. He passed by the living room where Rachel had seemingly disappeared from. Thank God.

The hallways of the brownstone were empty, with everything being packed up and ready to be shipped off to either San Francisco with Rachel or back to Tree Hill, North Carolina with Nathan and Jamie.

When he reached his own bedroom, the one he rarely shared with Rachel while they were married, his thoughts drifted to the memories of how he came to be a single father of the most wonderful child a man could ask for.

* * *

"_You're pregnant?" Nathan choked._

_Rachel rolled her eyes in irritation. "Of course I'm pregnant. I haven't bled in nearly three months."_

"_Woah, too much information, Rachel," Nathan grimaced. "Have you seen a doctor?"_

"_I went this morning and they confirmed it. God, I can't believe you forgot protection. It's just a piece of rubber," she yelled._

"_You're blaming me?" Nathan asked incredulously. "You were the one who told me that you were on birth control and that I had nothing to worry about."_

"_I _was_ on the pill! But there's still a ninety-nine percent success rate with it. You should have taken care of the one percent!"_

_Nathan inwardly groaned. Suicide looked tempting. So did homicide. He wasn't too picky._

"_Well, you know what this means, don't you?" Rachel asked._

_Nathan outwardly groaned. "We have to get married."_

"_Damn right, we have to get married. Can you just imagine the degradation of having an illegitimate child? We would be shunned from every social circle around," Rachel complained._

_Another groan. "Have you told anyone yet?"_

"_No, what do you think I am? Stupid?"_

_Nathan wondered if that was a trick question. The honest answer was on the tip of his tongue, but he figured if he was going to marry the bint, he might as well get used to not insulting her._

_A one-night stand with Rachel had turned into the first day of the rest of his life. _

_Lucas' birthday party had included massive amounts of alcohol and massive amounts of drinking games. That night had also included a massive amount of poor decisions._

_Poor decision number one: going to Lucas' party_

_Poor decision number two: getting completely smashed and making out with Rachel in the closet._

_Poor decision number three: letting his damn dick do the thinking while he was drunk._

_Poor decision number four: having sex with Rachel in the same closet while a party was going on in the background._

_Poor decision number five: shagging Rachel, period._

_Poor decision number six: see poor decision numbers four and five._

_He was never going to get drunk again. Ever. Never ever._

_xxxx  
_

"_I am so sick of being pregnant," Rachel whined. "I don't understand how people have more than one child. I feel like shit, look like shit and probably smell like it, too."_

_Once again, Nathan found himself wondering if Rachel wanted a response. After six months of dealing with her, he knew the correct times to give his opinion and the correct times to disappear from the brownstone that his parents had bought them as a wedding present._

_Thinking about the brownstone's location in New York, Nathan knew his parents were distancing themselves from Hurricane Rachel. In fact, Karen had absolutely no tolerance for her daughter-in-law, constantly reminding anyone who would listen to her._

"_When is your stupid baby going to come out?" Rachel asked with an angry sigh. "My feet hurt and my back hurts and everything hurts!"_

"_Shut up, Rachel. Seriously. Just shut up. My __head_ _hurts from your goddamn whining and moaning," Nathan finally said.  
_

_With a slap to his arm and a string of curse words that would have made a sailor blush, Rachel left the room and locked herself in their bedroom._

"_OOWWW!" Rachel's voice woke Nathan up that very night. "Son of a fucking OW!"_

_Nathan sighed and got out of bed, walking over to the other bed in the master bedroom. Yes, you read that right. No sane man would sleep in the same bed as a pregnant, behemoth bitch. From the very beginning until the very end, Nathan and Rachel never shared a bed._

_Nathan had learned his lesson from poor decisions 4, 5 and 6._

"_What's wrong, Rachel?" Nathan asked sleepily, stumbling around, looking for the light switch._

"_What's wrong? I'll tell you what's fucking wrong; your stupid child is ready to come out while I'm trying to get my damn beauty sleep. If I don't get the recommended eight and a half hours of sleep, I could develop wrinkles as early as the age of twenty! That's what's wrong!"_

_Nathan sighed as he helped Rachel out of bed and called 911 to North Shore Hospital, which was suited just a couple of blocks from their brownstone._

_Arriving at the hospital, being yelled at by Rachel and trying to calm his nerves at finally getting to meet his child left Nathan physically and emotionally drained. He had sat in the waiting room for five hours because Rachel refused to let him in the delivery room. She barely wanted her doctor and the nurses in there. Heaven forbid somebody see her in a less than fashionable state._

_xxxx  
_

"_Mr. Scott? Would you like to see your new son?" the soft voice of the elderly nurse roused Nathan from his half-sleep state._

_He rubbed his face and stood up, walking towards her and the blanketed bundle in her arms._

_If someone had told him earlier that he would instantly fall in love with a child he had made with Rachel Gatina upon first sight, he would have recommended a nice mental health institution for that person._

_Nothing could have prepared him for the onslaught of emotions at seeing his pouting baby boy in his arms. His throat clogged with unspoken feeling as he gazed at the round face of the dark haired infant. Wisps of dark brown hair crowned his head and cobalt blue eyes refused to open behind dark eyelashes._

_Nathan knew from that moment as he had held his son for the first time that nothing in the world would ever come between them. He would make it his life's duty to make sure nothing ever harmed the child he had created. Nathan had never loved anything more._

"_Would you like to hold your baby, Mrs. Scott?" the attending nurse asked Rachel, who had seemed to have acquired a permanent scowl on her face._

"_He caused me enough pain. I'm tired, so leave me to sleep," Rachel scowled._

_Nathan sat in the rocking chair near the window of Rachel's hospital room, holding his new son, James Lucas Scott. His brother had been ecstatic when he had told him over the phone that he was naming his nephew after him- well the middle name at least._

_The nurse suppressed a surprised look and shared a glance with Nathan. He knew a pity-look when he saw one. "Very well, Mrs. Scott. I'll wake you in an hour so you can feed him."_

"_I have already told you that I'm not letting my breasts go to hell just so the kid can eat. I've seen what breastfeeding does to women. I won't have saggy tits by the time I hit my mid-twenties. Give him the formula like last time," Rachel said in an annoyed tone._

_The nurse stared at Rachel as if contemplating whether to laugh or smother her with the pillow she was fluffing. Nathan hoped she decided on the latter option._

_xxxx  
_

_An hour after Rachel had fallen asleep, something the hospital and Nathan were thankful for, Nathan held his son and just stared at him. As if disturbed by being watched, Jamie carefully opened his eyes and blinked slowly up at his father, a disconcerted look on his face._

_Identical blue eyes stared up at Nathan, acknowledging his presence and status of fatherhood. That had been one of the single greatest moments Nathan could remember since being accepted at Duke with a full basketball scholarship._

_After winning the state championship in his senior year of high school, Nathan Scott was bursting with raw talent and ready to start his life as Duke Blue Devil with his brother at his side. He was an immediate star there, burning hot and insanely popular from the first time he stepped in that gym. He led the Blue Devils to two consecutive NCAA championships, and a contract from the NBA seemed like a done deal by the time he entered his senior year. _

_However, fate had other plans for him. It was Game 6 of the NCAA Finals in his senior year and like always, Nathan was attracting most of the attention, making one spectacular play after another_. _The Blue Devils were up by 19 points with less than 2 minutes to go, __and just a week ago he had signed with the New York Knicks- he had accomplished his dream, and was going to be leaving Duke as a champion. At that point it seemed to him that nothing could go wrong._

_But it did. And things turned the other way so fast that Nathan still had no idea how it had happened. With about a 1:15 left, Nathan was driving to the basket for an easy layup when he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Ignoring it, he quickly made the bucket and made to run to the other end of the floor, when he felt the pain again- only this time it was much worse. Knowing he couldn't continue playing like this, he quickly signaled his coach for a time out, but before the whistle could sound, Nathan felt the whole world swaying in front of his eyes. Trying to regain his composure, Nathan attempted to take a couple of steps, but was halted by a sharp tightening around his chest and suddenly found himself unable to breathe. The pain in his chest doubled in force as he fell to his knees panting. The whole crowd was on its feet, trying to figure out what was wrong with THE Nathan Scott. He could barely make out a pair of feet running towards him, and the last thing he saw before passing out was the concerned face of his brother._

_He woke up in the hospital a couple hours later, horrified to find himself attached to a number of drips and needles, and a monitor that was keeping track of his heartbeat. A couple minutes later he found out that he had HCM- a disease he had inherited from his father which would prevent him from ever playing basketball again, especially at the professional level. He remembered hearing the doctor explain to him the risk factors associated with the disease, but he couldn't make out any of it. All he knew was that his basketball career was over, and for a couple of seconds he wished that the disease had finished him off rather than forcing him to live in an existence where he had nothing. _

_But holding his son in that moment, Nathan had no doubt in his mind that he was indeed his biggest victory. And who knew, maybe everything might just turn out to be alright in the end. _

_xxxx  
_

"_Oh, little Jamie!" Karen tearfully greeted her grandson. "Look how big you've gotten!"_

_Jamie looked up at her with wide eyes and a toothy grin. "Ba ba ba ba ba," he babbled._

"_Has he said his first word, yet?" Dan asked as he watched Karen coo at the one-year-old in her lap._

_Nathan shook his head. "He just babbles. Drives Rachel crazy," he added with a smile._

"_Thank you for not bringing her, Nathan," Karen suddenly said. "The holidays would have been completely ruined with her presence."_

"_My life is completely ruined with her presence," Nathan muttered. "She's visiting her friends in Florida."_

"_Have you considered what we talked to you about, dear?" Karen asked. "About possibly divorcing her?"_

_Nathan sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I don't want Jamie growing up without his mother. I owe him that much at least."_

"_He's better off without her," Dan said silkily. "I've never met a woman so disinterested in her own child. Does she spend any time with him at all?"_

_Nathan shrugged. "I take him to work with me, I bathe him, feed him, change him, play with him. She mentioned that she'd rather not hear his cries because they give her a headache."_

"_And you're torturing yourself by staying married to her? Why, Nathan?" Karen asked, stroking Jamie's hair._

"_It's good for him to know his mother, even if she is a horrible one. I don't want to deprive him of anything and if that means I have to stick with her for a while, well, then I can make a few sacrifices for him."_

_xxxx  
_

"_I've met someone," Rachel said coolly as Nathan dressed Jamie in a pair of denim overalls. It was the day before Jamie's third birthday._

"_Have you?" Nathan asked, making a face at Jamie to make him laugh._

"_Yes, his name is Felix," she replied. "We're in love."_

"_Well, that's good. Love's important, isn't it, Jamie?" Nathan asked, hiding a smirk._

_Jamie squealed a small laugh and stood up on the changing table to hold on to his father. "Daddy!" he screamed. "Hop, hop dance hop!"_

"_Can you pay me a second of attention?" Rachel asked irritably. "I just thought I'd let you know that I want a separation."_

"_Not a divorce?" Nathan asked simply as he picked Jamie up and walked out of the door, leaving Rachel no choice but to follow him._

"_I thought you wanted me around for the kid?" Rachel asked acerbically. "I might as well stick around and have a little fun on the side. Since you won't sleep with me, might as well find someone who will."_

"_I'll send Felix my condolences," Nathan told her._

"_Argh!" Rachel yelled with frustration. "You don't take anything seriously! All you care about is Jamie and what Jamie wants and what Jamie needs. Well, what about what I want? What about what I need?"_

_Nathan ignored her and walked outside into the large balcony of their brownstone where Jamie's jungle gym was. He set the boy down and watched as he walked off to climb and explore._

"_I need to feel like a woman, Nathan, and you obviously don't treat me like one. Felix is a good man who loves me!"_

"_Does he know you're married?" Nathan asked apathetically. He wasn't really interested in what she had to say, but he was bored and infuriating Rachel was a favorite pastime of his._

"_Yes, he knows. He knows what a horrible sham of a marriage this is. He knows it isn't based on love, but on the fact that we were careless idiots who can't practice safe sex," she replied._

"_Practice? I'm sure we did it just the one time. Don't make it seem like more. I have enough disturbing thoughts without having to add the one of you and me having sex more than once," Nathan said._

_With another yell of annoyance, Rachel turned on her stiletto heels and left the yard._

_

* * *

_Nathan got into his bed and turned out the lights, his head aching with the juxtaposed memories and the tiring day he had had of finalizing his divorce.

After insistent persuasion from his parents that Jamie wouldn't be affected by not having a mother around and the fact that Rachel wanted to marry her lover, Felix, Nathan had signed the divorce papers with ease.

The only regret he had was why he hadn't signed the damned things earlier. Stubborn idiot, that's what he was.

He closed his eyes and cleared his head from everything. Tomorrow would be the start of his life with Jamie in Tree Hill. He had practically been a single father the entire time Jamie had been alive, due to the negligent nature Rachel had radiated so he wasn't too worried about his skills as a father.

He did worry about how Jamie would adjust to life in Tree Hill and whether he would like being put in a preschool instead of going to work with his father everyday. The Little Bright Stars Pre School had recently opened in Tree Hill, and Nathan was sure that it was a great place for Jamie. He needed to be around kids his own age and to start learning the basics of primary education.

Nathan had wanted to send Jamie straight to Elementary school without the hassle that came with pre school education, but with the hectic schedule of owning his own company and taking care of a child, Nathan found it a bit difficult to try and teach Jamie everything he would need to know in order to make it as an intellectually capable adolescent.

He would have leave it to the professionals.

And with that thought in mind, Nathan dozed off into the world of slumber where problems disappeared, solutions played out, and fantasies emerged center stage.

* * *

**A/N:** This is my first attempt at writing an AU, and I got this idea while reading a Dramione fanfiction called _A Wonderful Caricature of Intimacy_ by **Countess of Abe**, so some of the plot credit goes to her!

For the first time in my life, I basically have the whole story written out, so updates will be quick. Things will start making sense very soon, trust me. And Haley makes an appearance in the next chapter! She hates Nathan's guts, which is always amusing!

I hope you guys liked the chapter, and please don't forget to **REVIEW**! They make my day and I love hearing what you guys have to say!


End file.
